date | days since purchase | event |
1993 | ||
---|---|---|
22-Sep | 0 | purchase mirror from Intermountain Optics |
30-Sep | 8 | mirror arrives |
3-Oct | 11 | tool poured [oops - directly on glass] |
9-Oct | 17 | edges wrecked while chipping off tool #1; tool #2 poured |
1994 | ||
17-Jan | 117 | grinding begins! [LA quakes] |
28-Feb | 159 | grinding ends! use Steve's machine #1 to polish before he sells it |
10-Mar | 169 | inverted polishing imparts BIG scratches |
14-May | 234 | new 16" sub-D tool poured |
21-May | 241 | broke new tool removing it from cast |
22-Jul | 303 | on critical path for OSP; Chuck's getting parts |
28-Jul | 309 | sellout: Steve will finish mirror |
2-Aug | 314 | Chuck's out of time; Burke tube purchased |
9-Aug | 321 | mirror finished! original scratches still visible.. |
9-Aug | 321 | hastily-made tube and mirror support shows asymmetric images [time's up for OSP] |
11-Aug | 323 | OSP - arrive with no 22", damaged van [& garage] |
26-Aug | 338 | fine-tune Burke tube; astigmatism in one quadrant? |
need to make a decent scope for testing.. | ||
1995 | ||
20-Feb | 516 | telescope-building at Chuck's [first of several] |
20-Jul | 666 | call from Chuck: it's now or never for OSP '95! |
22-Jul | 668 | upper cage and mirror supports |
10-Aug | 687 | telescope finished! - but mirror still looks astigmatic.. |
16-Aug | 693 | cheap local coating for OSP |
24-Aug | 701 | OSP again: great views at low power... ParaCorr doesn't help |
1996 | ||
14-Jan | 844 | mirror exam w/Steve and Howard: is it the scratches? |
19-Feb | 880 | e-mails w/Mel: it's in the glass |
14-Apr | 935 | clean tool for 22"; contemplate options |
28-Apr | 949 | e-mail: 22" for sale |
14-Jun | 996 | turn down only offer - $1500 |
15-Aug | 1,057 | OSP yet again, with badly figured [and tarnished] mirror |
mid-Dec | 1,057 | Steve finishes the new grind/polish machine |
1997 | ||
4-Jan | 1,200 | grinding resumes; MMarathon begins 4/7! [oops] |
6-Jan | 1,202 | grinding ends; all scratches removed!! |
13-Jan | 1,209 | polishing begins |
19-Jan | 1,215 | focal length dropping |
6-Feb | 1,233 | still polishing, now >16 hours.. |
13-Feb | 1,240 | new pitch |
16-Feb | 1,243 | 1/2 hour with tool on top finishes polishing [w/o scratches..]! |
20-Feb | 1,247 | figuring begins |
27-Feb | 1,254 | mirror finished! Cut truss-tubes shorter and check results |
6-Mar | 1,261 | take mirror home for star-testing |
11-Apr | 1,297 | Canby tests; mirror fails Ronchi test. |
4-May | 1,320 | rework mirror; Steve and Allan really like it! |
15-May | 1,331 | star-test fails.. at 1063x; Ronchi good, but not great. |
18-May | 1,334 | mirror finished! Steve to Riverside. Rebuilt upper cage [bad idea..] |
19, 21 | 1,335 | now a touch overcorrected, astigmatic? [error in mirror or cage?] |
18-Jun | 1,365 | mirror passes all interior tests [just like a month ago]; ship it! |
22-Jun | 1,369 | build a shipping box: too small? [oops] |
24-Jun | 1,371 | ship mirror in custom box via UPS ground svc [will UPS strike?] |
wife's purse stolen; close all accounts! | ||
8-Jul | 1,385 | packing store: check bounced [VISA] |
21-Jul | 1,398 | QSP mirror coating company: check bounced [send another] |
30-Jul | 1,407 | mirror leaves QSP! |
1-Aug | 1,409 | UPS strike begins; service is 10% of normal.. |
7-Aug | 1,409 | the Prodigal Pyrex arrives.. |
"Chuck" is Chuck Dethloff, owner of Telescopes and More, a local professional telescope-maker who generously allowed me to take up some of his time, tools and garage-space while building the telescope
Other names refer to local telescope-making veterans in western Oregon.